Man charged with arson in 3-alarm apartment fire in SW Houston

HOUSTON - A man has been charged in connection to Tuesday's 3-alarm apartment fire in southwest Houston.

Christian Andre Horton has been arrested and charged with arson. Investigators said Tuesday they believed the fire at the Mar Del Sol apartments in the 9300 block of Woodfair near the Beltway and Bissonnet was started with a Molotov cocktail.

Court documents state Horton, 23, used an ignitable substance, intending to damage the apartment complex. Investigators believe he lit a rag with accelerant stuffed in a bottle because they say a steel door caught fire.

Horton's bond has been set at $30,000.

More than 30 residents were displaced by the blaze and some of them lost everything. The Red Cross is assisting those families.

Investigators say three children were inside the apartment where the fire started. One family tells Local 2 that they is in hiding because of threats coming from Horton's friends and family. Another family said it is afraid to talk for fear of retaliation from the suspect's friends.

A total of 16 units were damaged or destroyed; apartment management says eight of those units were occupied. The fire caused an estimated